You Can't Compete
by nevertothethird
Summary: AU: What may have happened if Piz had known Veronica was going to the dining hall at the end of 3x07 and kept that information from Logan. Takes place after "Of Vice and Men." Logan confronts Piz while he and Wallace study. Oneshot.


**A/N 1: **Wallace is inspired by Rob Thomas. Just go with it.

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Piz and Wallace sat in their dorm room, both with headphones plugged into their respective iPods, Wallace's set to a mix of various hip hop and R&B artists Piz had never heard of and Piz's with a series of indie artists, each with a wardrobe set to out hobo-chic the next. Wallace had shown up that morning from the motel where he had hunkered down the entire week, citing his need to save some money and stop subsisting on a diet made up of whatever junk food he could purchase from the vending machine at the end of his hallway.

Wallace hadn't spoken more than fifteen words to Piz since returning to the room, and had merely raised an eyebrow when he noticed Veronica's duffel bag at the foot of his own bed. When Piz had opened his mouth to explain, Wallace held up his right index finger, poked it a little more firmly than intended into Piz's chest, and interrupted him his almost explanation. "Tell me after 2:00 PM. Until then, I don't care."

Wallace had warned Piz on pain of death not to disturb him which included any mouth breathing at an unacceptable decibel level. Piz had no doubt that, given Wallace's current mania, Wallace may actually act on his threat to duct tape Piz's mouth shut.

When a loud knock sounded on the other side of their door, Piz's anxiety was understandable given his certainty that Wallace was going to blame him for this interruption despite the fact that he was nowhere near the door. Piz jumped up, intent on silencing the offender as quickly as possible, and in the process maybe save his own life. He expected and half hoped that he'd open the door to find Veronica standing before him, in all her wavy blonde hair glory, open arms hugging him gratefully for taking her in during her distress. Given the fact that Meryl was now reconciled with her boyfriend, he was looking forward to being in a room, alone with Veronica. She hadn't returned the previous evening, and Piz was shamefully disappointed at the likelihood she had reconciled with her dad.

He absolutely did not expect, and should have completely dreaded, the sight of Logan Echolls on the side of door. A vision in a swirl of what he had noticed was the Echolls color palette: green, grey, brown, and black. The man rarely wore any color not found on a tree. Piz saw him wear blue once, and resented the fact Logan looked better in that color than he did, despite the fact his mother had once told him blue showed off the color of his eyes. Piz found himself in a staring contest with a decidedly impassioned off man. One who was clearly trying and almost failing to remain calm.

"Hey Pissy, busy?" Without waiting for an answer, Logan pushed Piz aside and walked in, planting his feet firmly and squarely in the center of the room, his back towards Wallace.

"Um, a little bit. Just studying. And actually it's Piz."

"Really? What did I say?" Logan's smirk communicated he knew exactly what he had said and that he had no intention of correcting himself. Piz, having selected that single syllable to go by figuring anything was better than Stosh, now regretted the decision knowing that for as long as he knew him, Logan was going to call him Pissy.

"Veronica isn't here."

Logan took a step towards Piz, and Piz felt each of the four inches that Logan stood over him somehow increase to make him feel even smaller beside the man standing in front of him. How could four inches all of a sudden seem towering?

"Oh, I'm aware. I just left her house to pick up some ice cream and come collect her bag. Per her request." Piz knew this was his moment. He could leave this impending confrontation by stepping three feet to the right and around Logan. He could swoop up the bag, place it firmly in Logan's chest, and then back him up until he left his room and his space. However his brain wasn't working with him. In fact his brain was working against him, keeping him firmly rooted in his spot.

Thankfully Wallace noticed, and out of the corner of his eye Piz saw Wallace remove his headphones, stand up, and grab Veronica's bag.

Wallace stood beside Piz and Logan, not entirely certain what he had stepped into. "Maybe I should step outside so you two can talk." Piz shot Wallace a pleading look, begging him to stay. Strangely enough it was Logan who was the first one to intercede for Wallace to remain as he was.

"Actually, Wallace, if you stay there's less of a chance that I am going to punch Pissy here in his solar plexus." Piz took a small step back, not at all comforted by Logan's apparently controlled restraint.

Wallace had noticed the way that Logan entered their room doing his absolute best to keep his anger and frustration, all clearly aimed at Piz, under wraps. It had been a while since Wallace had seen Logan like this. All that was missing was a crowbar and he could do some serious damage. Wallace wondered what it said about his own sanity that he found it strangely comforting that Logan announced his intentions to beat the hell out of Piz, but resisted. Over the two years he had known Logan, he had only ever seen one person draw out this side of him, sometimes in antagonism but most often in protectiveness.

Wallace placed a hand on Logan's shoulder, effectively calming him and forcing Logan to take another step away from Piz. "Logan, man, is Veronica okay?"

Logan looked sharply at Wallace with feigned over excitement, and scratched his head as if doing so would help him figure out the answer to Wallace's question. "I don't know, Wallace, unless you consider 'okay' to consist of getting dosed with GHB in the dining hall and being the next almost victim of the Hearst rapist." Logan turned off his façade of jubilance quickly and fixed his gaze on Piz. "What do you think, Pissy, does that sound okay to you?"

Piz took a few steps back, and Wallace began pacing back and forth. Both men overwhelmed by what they had just heard, but while Wallace's concern was pure and undiluted, Piz's clearly contained hints of guilt. Hearing Wallace's strained "Oh god, Veroncia" pulled Logan out of his staring contest with Piz's downturned face, and he turned to reassure Wallace. He put one of his strong hands on each of Wallace's shoulders and held him steady.

"Hey man, it's okay. She's fine. I found her passed out by her SUV, took her to her dad's house, and she managed to rest and sleep through the night. Most of it is out of her system by now, she's just feeling pretty drained." Logan guided Wallace a few steps backwards to Wallace's desk chair, and when the back of Wallace's knees met the edge of the chair, he automatically sat down. Logan kept one hand on Wallace's shoulder in comfort, knowing that Veronica meant almost as much to Wallace as she did to himself. "Wallace, I wouldn't lie to you. She's going to be okay."

Wallace nodded his head, trying to hold onto each of Logan's words and believe them fiercely. "How did it happen?"

Logan removed his hand from Wallace's shoulder and again stared at Piz. Logan could tell from the way Piz backed up even further, and self-consciously ran a hand through the long hair hanging in his eyes that he had suspected what had happened and why Logan was so wound up and standing in his room. "She was in the dining hall and left her drink alone for a minute. Someone slipped in GHB while she wasn't looking."

By this time, Piz had found his own desk chair and sat down, but when he saw Logan stepping towards him, he figured having Logan standing even taller above him was a terrible idea so he stood back up. "You want to tell him, Pissy? Want to tell Wallace all about how I came to your room to find Veronica because I was worried about her and you fed me a line about not knowing where she was."

Piz began shuffling his feet in discomfort, and began praying for the rumored sink hole on the Hearst campus to suddenly open up under their room and swallow him whole.

"When she finally came to, she asked me if you were the one who told me where she was. She actually thanked me for getting to her so quickly. And all I kept thinking was if you had told me this would never have happened."

The full weight of the consequences of this one white lie, which he had told purely to try to keep Logan off Veronica's track for another day, settled heavily on Piz. He wasn't an evil dude, he wasn't a master plotter, or manipulator. He had simply wanted Logan and Veronica to be separated for a little while longer. He thought that with a little distance, Veronica would see that maybe Stosh Piznarski was more her speed than Logan Echolls. Clearly he had miscalculated.

Piz still couldn't look Logan or Wallace in the eye, even though he knew he owed it to both of them. "Logan, I am so sorry. I didn't think she'd want you to know where she was. I didn't know…"

"You're right Piz! You didn't know, because you don't know her. You don't know that shit like this happens to her all the time."

Piz looked to Wallace for support, but Wallace simply shook his head at him. "He's right, man. This stuff happens to her a lot. And while I may not be Logan's biggest fan, no offense." Logan just smirked and almost imperceptibly shrugged his shoulders. "I know enough to know that he's gotten V out of some pretty terrible situations."

"There's no way I could have known this would have happened. I was just trying to be a good friend!" Piz affected his best doe eyed innocent expression and almost pleaded with both of them to believe him. Wallace was convinced, but Logan looked nonplussed.

"No you weren't Pissy. You weren't trying to be a good friend. You were trying to be the boyfriend stand in. But let me make something very clear to you. You are not the white knight, I am not the villain, and Veronica does not need you to save her from big bad Logan Echolls."

Wallace could hear Logan's distress increase with every word he spoke, and Wallace knew that he was missing a part of the puzzle. Veronica was dosed with GHB, and while that was awful especially given her history with that substance, Logan had found her in time. The way Logan was reacting, though, clued him into the fact that something was being left out. There was something Logan didn't want to say. Wallace stood up and placed himself in between Logan and Piz so he could have Logan's full attention.

"Logan, man, did something else happen to Veronica? I mean, besides the GHB."

Usually the owner an unshakeable poker face, Logan's expression broke just a crack, and Wallace knew he had hit his mark.

"She's okay, Wallace, but I don't think…I can't tell you. Veronica's already going to be...unimpressed...that I told you guys about the GHB. I can't tell you the rest. If she wants to, she will."

Despite the fact that he was several feet away from him, Piz could feel the heat and anger radiating from Logan, and it was all focused on him. He felt himself getting slightly dizzy from the force of trying to stand up tall against it. Even more dizzying than the anger was the absolute fear behind Logan's eyes. Logan was terrified of what had happened to Veronica, and despite his innocent intentions, Piz knew he had played a part in what had happened. Veronica never asked him to hide her from Logan; he had just foolishly taken on that responsibility and it had gotten her hurt.

Wallace walked back to the foot of his bed where he had dropped Veronica's duffel bag, picked it up, and handed it over to Logan. "Tell V I'm glad she's okay and I'll stop by later."

Logan nodded and took Veronica's bag from Wallace.

Piz felt like a coward, but he needed to know what Logan had told Veronica. "Logan, did you tell her that I lied to you?"

A small huff of laughter slipped from Logan's lips. "I didn't mention it."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't need to play games to keep my girl."

The matter seemed settled, and none of the men in the room knew how to break the peculiar Mexican standoff that was currently taking place. The only one who looked at ease was Logan, who maintained his calm exterior, but would occasionally clench and unclench the hand not holding Veronica's bag. In fact, the more uncomfortable Piz was made by the silence, the more serene Logan's face became. He reveled in Piz's discomfort knowing it didn't come close to matching what Veronica herself was experiencing.

Piz's reprieve came in the form of Logan's cell phone ringing, and the complete and total change in Logan's expression as he answered made it clear both to Wallace and Piz who was on the other line.

"Hey bobcat…No, I haven't even left their place yet…You know me, easily distracted by shiny objects…Yeah, I can do that…See you soon." Logan hung up the phone and placed it back in his pocket. The call from Veronica had effectively reminded him of what his purpose had been, which was to take care of her. Part one was complete, and now he had to get to the grocery store and complete part two, which included ice cream and Veronica's newest request of peanut butter Cap'n Crunch.

Logan gripped the bag a little more firmly, gave a nod to Wallace and silently moved past Piz. Piz kept his back to Logan, not wanting to get caught in another hate stare without anything to say. Logan, as it turned out, still had plenty. "Also, Pissy, next time you want to go bowling, bring your own damn date and stay away from mine." Piz heard the door open and he squeezed his eyes closed as Logan slammed it shut much louder than was absolutely necessary.

Piz exhaled a large breath he hadn't been aware he was holding, and sat down heavily in his desk chair, holding his head between his hands. "Sheesh, Wallace, is he always that…"

"Intense?"

"I was going to go with psychotic, but sure, I guess intense is a nicer way of putting it."

Wallace sat back down on his bed, putting the headphones around his neck, but not yet slipping them over his ears. He had another 45 minutes to study before he had to leave to take his exam, and he had a feeling they were going to go almost completely to waste. "Hey Piz, we're friends, right?"

Piz sat up, and slouched low in his chair. "I'd like to think so."

"Well, then, I owe it to you to give you some advice. You aren't going to be the winner here."

Piz sat up a littler straighter and leaned forward, all his attention focused on Wallace. "What do you mean?"

"Look, I didn't say anything about your little crush on Veronica because it seemed innocent, but if you're thinking of making a play for Veronica, just don't. He's always going to choose her, and she's always going to choose him. At the end of the day you can't compete with what is going on between the two of them."

Piz's mouth dropped open at Wallace's assessment, wanting to disagree that a relationship of less than six months, one between two 19-year old kids could be as significant as Wallace had described it. But Piz had seen the look in Logan's eye and he knew that even if Wallace wasn't right about Veronica, he was absolutely right about Logan. Logan was always going to choose her, and Piz wasn't going to be the winner.

A few weeks later, in the aftermath of what had happened to her, Logan broke up with Veronica. Piz was in the room when she had told Wallace and Mac and had explained to all of them Logan's reasons. Wallace and Mac were sympathetic, but Piz could tell that they got it. They understood that fear could drive someone to do crazy things, and Logan's had driven him to break up with Veronica.

It was also what had driven Logan to cancel his plans to go to Aspen and hang out in Neptune for the Christmas holiday, never more than a stone's throw away from Veronica, despite being broken up. Veronica and her dad celebrated Christmas together, and Wallace had discretely arranged it to have Logan invited over to his house for Christmas dinner.

Not even three days into the new semester, Piz spotted Logan and Veronica walking across campus hand in hand, clearly back 'on-again.' Piz didn't know how, but it seemed their time apart had made them even closer as a couple. They both seemed more settled and secure in one another. Logan still called Piz 'Pissy' but he did so with less hatred and more affection.

Six weeks into the winter semester, Wallace and Piz were outside studying, enjoying an unseasonably warm February afternoon when Piz spotted Veronica walking as quickly as she could across campus, occasionally throwing glances over her shoulder to see if someone was following her. Piz immediately tensed up in light of her rather recent run in with Mercer, but he relaxed when he saw Logan catch up to her quickly.

Logan stepped in front of Veronica and held her in place by the shoulders so she couldn't keep running. Her hip was popped out, and she looked ready to kick Logan in the shins, but he just held her there, looking her square in the eye. He let her rage at him, and would occasionally speak a word or two, but he never let her go. After Veronica stopped her tirade, Logan wrapped his arms around her, and held her to his chest tightly, rubbing small concentric circles on her lower back. She pulled back slightly and cuffed him along the side of his head, the universal symbol for 'I'm still mad at you', but allowed herself be pulled back into the hug and wrapped her arms around him. Logan simply smiled as he rested his chin on top of Veronica's head.

Eventually, Veronica turned to the side so she had one arm around his waist, and the two continued to walk across campus, quietly talking, clearly working out whatever their argument was about. Piz watched them walk until they turned a corner around a building and he had lost sight of them. He looked over to Wallace, who had seen the entire exchange himself, and was just smiling and shaking his head.

"You were right, Wallace. I can't compete with that. And even if I did try to play that game, it's pretty clear I don't have any idea what the rules are."

Wallace laughed and gave up a silent 'thank the lord' that he had been spared an awkward semester of navigating a Logan – Veronica – Piz love triangle. Wallace turned back down to study, but felt Piz nudge him slightly to get his attention. He looked up, clearly annoyed at the disruption, but when he saw Piz gesture with his head to the two girls sitting fifty feet away from them, doing their best to pretend to ignore them, his annoyance dissipated.

Piz smiled at the girls, and the one who had been checking him out ducked her head shyly. "Now that over there is a game more my speed." Wallace and Piz wordlessly scooped up their books, both of them intent on winning this time.

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**A/N 2: **18, 20, 22, you know what you have to do. Review. Review. REEEE-VIEW!


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